Box of Memories
by Emey Troi
Summary: Tooth finds something that belongs to Pitch and wishes to return it- but will he take it back? Tooth/Pitch and Tooth/Jack. This was originally going to be a one-shot but I decided to get a few more chapters in.


Disclaimer: None of these characters belong to me! Also, it's been a REALLY long time since I've tried writing a short story like this and it's been an even longer time since I wrote a fanfiction so I can't promise its quality. Still, I would like to get better and write more so any/all feedback is welcome. 3 Characters involved are mainly Pitch and Tooth with a side of Jack. That almost sounds like a food… Tooth finds something that belongs to Pitch and wishes to return it- but will he take it back?

Feathers rustled restlessly for days. There was always work to be done. Work, work, and more work. The few moments she had gone out on the field were now like a blissful dream. It was just a blissful dream and yet it was also like a horrifying nightmare. She would never forget the terror she felt when her fairies were taken from her and when she had lost all control of the only thing she could count on; memories. Memories were like a lifeline, showing those they belong to how to avoid repetitive mistakes and guiding you down a narrow, safe pathway. Without that guideline the young guardian had felt lost. With a fast flutter of her eyes Toothiana realized she had stopped working, the girls flitting about her in tiny twists and turns of anxiety and worry.

The guardian smiled reassuringly, dancing her fingers along Baby Tooth's mane of feathers, "Don't worry. I'm fine!" She laughed a little at the end, hoping that this would help ease their worries, "I guess I'm just tired, is all. How about you girls continue a while without me? I have something… something I've been meaning to look at."

With a quick dismissal Toothiana escaped to her own quarters. It was a round room with various cubby holes and drawers carved into the walls. As she floated by she passed various ice sculptures (kept in an air-tight room to keep from melting, of course), specially decorated eggs, delicately designed hourglasses of sand, and a few glass pieces cut to designs that resembled frost- the newest pieces to her collection. Her fingers grazed her golden desk decorated with jade knick-knacks and covered with papers that she still needed to look over (mostly involving broken teeth and other such damages) but otherwise barren, much like the rest of the room she hardly spent time in. Although it was the center of her palace it had become more like a showcase of her own personal fond memories then an actual place to do paperwork. Remembering her first days, she had spent a lot of time in this room, flitting back and forth, deep in her own thoughts and memories.

Tooth stopped just in front of a large gold-painted wordrobe made of old bamboo, her feet slowly dropping and touching the ground, silky wings gracing the curves of her back as she slowly swung the two doors open. Old, unused weaponry let off a dull shine but that's not what she had come looking for. Violet eyes turned down to stare silently at the small, black, oxygonal box which stood apart from everything in the room like a stain. Still… it was a beautiful stain with its round, gold carvings, glittering just like everything else that she held dear. Toothiana held the box carefully between her fingertips, the memories upon first discovering its contents still fresh in her mind though it had been ages ago since the lid had been removed. Her thoughts from earlier, remembering the incident with her fairies, made her mind go back to this single box.

Pitch's teeth.

After her first encounter with Pitch, and after finding her own memories of her mother and father, Toothiana had gone on an endless search for these tiny things. A smile graced her features as she remembered the new addition that she had not yet added to the findings within the box of teeth. The smile vanished as quickly as it had come.

"Jack…" she whispered.

Tooth's heart ached. She had failed at her job as the Tooth Fairy. It's true that she didn't know Jack had lived so long without his memories but still… he had been lost because of it. Could she have prevented something- some damage that couldn't be repaired- or would her power to return Jack's memories have done nothing even if she had accessed them sooner? There were so many "what if's"…

"I… I still have one more job to do…"

With a deep breath and a look of determination, Toothiana gently closed the wardrobe doors and dropped the tooth box in a pouch on her hip. Somehow, the guardian managed to pass through small archways and paths without being noticed by her fairies, leaving them with the trust that they would be able to hold down the fort without her for a few short minutes as she fluttered to the one place most people would avoid. Tooth glided down carefully through the trees and down to a dry grove where a large hole opened up, agape among a field of dead grass and sand. It had taken her the whole day just to find the right place and now the moon shimmered across her feathers. She looked up at the ebony blue sky, her eyes staring with a silent question. Was she doing the right thing?

Quickly, she turned away. This was something she had decided on. There was no room for her to fear or turn back now. As her wings slowly glided her down the dark pathway Toothiana began questioning her sanity. She should've brought her weapons but as she had left that bringing a weapon would've served to her being treated like an enemy. She didn't want to bring hostility into the equation. With an iron will Tooth glided into the dark, wide, empty room that was the domain of the Boogeyman. Black cages decorated the ceiling from chains. Toothiana felt a shiver run down her spine, realizing that this must've been where Pitch had kept her fairies.

She took a gulp of air before nervously stuttering out, "P-Pitch?"

There was no response.

"Pitchiner?" she called out more willfully than before.

There was a shimmer of darkness and then there he was- standing. He was a tall, pale building standing straight in the middle of the dimly lit room. Yet, there was something odd about him now. His face seemed grimmer, his cheeks sunken and his eyes empty- a dull yellow compared to the fiery gold they had been during their last encounter.

"What do _you_ want…?" Pitch's voice hissed at the edges like hot coals on water.

Toothiana gulped again, "I… I came to return something."

There was another pause.

"_Return_ something?"

"Yes… something you've forgotten."

Pitch's sharp laugh creaked against the walls, "Is there something wrong with your _head_, little fairy girl?" his tone was dark, dangerous, but the shadows played on his face so all Tooth could hear was his voice, "I don't care what you have for me. Can't you see that you little guardians have won already!?Must you torture me anymore then you already have?! Leave me be! Let me corrode in peace!" the shadow man's fist collided with the globe that stood in the center of the room, glowing gold dots reflecting onto his hollowed features.

Despite stiffening from Pitch's hostility Tooth was not ready to give up. She moved closer to him slowly as if reaching out to a scared, feral dog.

"Pitch, I'm not here to hurt you. I want to help you. I want to _give_ you something."

Toothiana reached a slow, steady hand into her bag, holding the black box out on her palm for Pitch to get a close look at it and hopefully realize that she wasn't trying to harm him or put salt on his wounds. She wanted nothing else but to help him now.

"It took me a long time to find this. I had to search the globe for bits and pieces but I was able to gather it all together thanks to Mim's help."

Tooth put her hand on the top of the box, the black metal sliding open to reveal teeth that showed clear signs of damage but had been repaired with the utmost care. Pitch's image shimmered within the shadows and within seconds he was in front of the Tooth Fairy, a hand reaching out slowly to the box on her outstretched fingers. His eyes were wide with surprise and interest.

"This is-"

"Your teeth." Tooth nodded in response, a kind, sad smile pulling on her cheeks as she took one more step closer to Pitch. "They're yours. Take them."

"How did you find these… I had destroyed them."

"It wasn't easy. It took a long time- several years in fact. They were scattered like ash across the globe. I found them in bits and pieces in the ground, in the trees, and even in the walls of great cities. They shined, though. They shined so brilliantly, Pitch, just waiting to be found."

Toothiana breathed deeply, reaching a steady hand to touch the cold hand that Pitch still had outstretched, frozen. She moved his fingers over the box gently.

"Please take them, Pitch. Take them and remember…"

They stood silently in front of one another for a long while as Pitch's shoulders relaxed warily, his fingers barely touching the cold metal of the oxygon shaped box. His gold eyes looked up at Toothiana, filled with an emotion he hadn't felt for a long time. Hope trickled down into his heart like a warm drink. He was ready to welcome it… ready to remember… until-

SLAM! Pitch knocked the container out of Toothiana's grip with the back of his hand. The gold in his eyes turned steely, his nails scrapping Tooth's skin as he gathered her front feathers in his hands.

"Memories?!" he screeched, pulling Tooth's face close to his own.

"You think I want to remember the torture I've endured?! I will not fall into your grips like the idiot you all think I am! I will _not_ let you defeat me a second time! People forget things for a reason… they forget so that they don't have to relive the painful memories that were once crushing them inside their own mind." Pitch breathed in through his teeth, "Your existence is a nuisance."

Tooth was tossed to the ground, a gasp escaping her as her shoulders knocked to the stone floor below her. She sat up shakily, crawling to where the teeth had flown to, taking the box back into her hands to keep it as near and dear to her heart as possible- where it would be safest. The fairy stood, her eyes glossed with tears she refused to reveal.

"You're just afraid!" Tooth screamed with all her might.

Pitch froze there, turning slowly to stare down at the fairy girl.

"You're just afraid." She repeated. "There's always something someone wants to forget, you're right about that, but that's _why_ we need to remember. If we don't remember the feelings of hurt and pain and loneliness then we will never remember how to feel love and joy! I've lost people so very dear to me but I refuse to forget them because they help me live, day by day, like I have never lived before!"

"How do you know about my pains?!"

"My family is dead!"

Gold eyes widened as slow tears filled the edges of the young fairy's violet colored eyes.

"My family… is dead. They're gone, Pitch, just like yours is. Even despite all that because I can remember them I've been able to create a new family with everyone else around me. Jack, North, Bunny, and Sandy… they are my family now. Pitch, please… please just realize that there will always be hope… there always has been."

Pitchiner turned to look down at the container that Tooth was holding out, pleading that he would just take it. Slowly, he closed his eyes and turned away. He leaned heavily against one of the long, mangled walls of his tomb and sighed.

"Leave, Toothiana."

Tooth opened her mouth to protest, lifting a hand in his direction slowly but she stopped when she saw his shoulders stiffen. He turned his eyes towards her. They glowed with sadness.

"Please. Leave me be. There is no hope for me anymore…"

Tooth pulled her hand back, clutching the little black box as her lip trembled. With a fist she wiped the tears away, her back shifting proudly as her wings lifted her into the air.

"Goodbye… Pitchiner."

With that she turned away, going back to where she came. Pitch stood in the darkness by his silent, lonely self for a long time before finally turning to look at where Toothiana had been standing. He had done so much to her. He had hurt her in so many ways, captured her fairies, stolen her precious teeth and yet still… still, she tried to find some good in him. He walked to where one of her smooth, shimmering emerald feathers had fallen, folding his fingers around it and holding it close to his heart as if it was something very dear and very… precious. She reminded him much of a girl he had known once long ago… a girl he had long forgotten.

Jack flew into the palace on a cold wind, opening the double doors to Toothiana's personal room only to find the girl sitting in her chair, polishing an old set of Asian oriented weapons. When she looked up at him he could tell that she had been crying. The tear stains were evident against her plush, red cheeks and eyes.

"J-Jack? What are you doing-"

"Baby Tooth brought me here."

The small fairy flew in and circled around the guardian's head before settling on her shoulder, nuzzling against her feathers. Jack shuffled over to where Tooth was sitting and shifted the papers on her desk so he could sit in front of her. He gave her a look of concern.

"Tooth… what's wrong?"

Toothiana turned back to her sharpening, looking anywhere else but at Jack.

"Wrong? There's nothing wrong, Jack. I don't know why Baby Tooth would bring you here- I'm just going through some old things, that's all."

The winter spirit frowned at his failed attempt to get her to confess. He took a brief look around before spotting the odd-shaped black box that was sitting on the corner of her desk. He held it up in his hands, inspecting it.

"What's this?"

Toothiana snatched it up quickly, shoving it back into the wardrobe.

"I-it's nothing! Don't worry about it- it's nothing, really, I just… just…"

Jack slid from the desk and left his staff there, shoving his hands in his pockets as he tip toed to where Tooth was, her back turned to him.

"What's wrong, Tooth? Please… I don't like seeing you like this."

There was a brief silence and then Jack noticed Tooth's shoulders shaking, her wings twitching every now and again. Finally, a sob escaped her and she turned slowly with tears rolling down her face. Jack's silver eyes widened in alarm as she reached around him and clung to him for comfort.

"I-I _tried_!" she gasped through her tears, sobbing between words, "I thought I could do something! I- I thought that if I t-tried hard enough I could make a difference but I didn't make a difference at all! Jack, what am I supposed to do when my powers are just _useless_ when I need them the most…?!"

Slowly, Jack pulled his arms around Toothiana's shoulders, his eyes closing as he held her close to him. Whether she was shivering because of the cold of his touch or because of the pain and powerlessness that was overtaking her, he didn't know. All he knew was that she needed him. She needed him to help her now. He knew what it was like to feel helpless- like nothing you did would ever make things right.

He brushed his fingers along the feathers on her back slowly, soothingly. "Shhhh… It's okay. You aren't useless, Tooth. You aren't…"

Jack held her to him until she stopped sobbing and had fallen asleep due to exhaustion. Even then he watched over her as she slept, laid out on the couch with a thin blanket to cover her. He didn't know what could cause Toothiana to break down like she did but it must've been something very painful for her. He hoped that being there when she needed him would be enough of a comfort…


End file.
